Oh, we can populate the dark with horrors, even we who think ourselves informed and sure, believing nothing we cannot measure or weigh. I know beyond all doubt that the dark things crowding in on me either did not exist or were not dangerous to me, and still I was afraid.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Steinbeck describes how fear can persist even when one knows things are not dangerous.
- In plain terms
- Fear can exist even when we know things aren't actually dangerous.
- What can you take from it?
- Fear often operates independently of rational knowledge.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Why do we fear what we know is safe?
- How do we manage irrational fears?
Another view
This perspective simplifies complex psychological conditions where fear has deeper roots.
More from John Steinbeck
The mountains of things we throw aware are greater than the things we use. In this, if in no other way, we can see the reckless exuberance of our production an…
Permalink to quote #47 The new American finds his challenge and his love in the traffic-choked streets, skies nested in smog, choking with the acids of industry, the screech of rubbe…
Permalink to quote #49 And now, our submarines are armed with mass murder, our sill, only defense against mass murder.
Permalink to quote #46
Related quotes
C'est de quoi j'ai le plus de peur que la peur.
Michel de MontaigneMichel de Montaigne quote #7 The more rational statement is that we feel sorry because we cry, angry because we strike, afraid because we tremble, and not that we cry, strike, or tremble, …
William JamesWilliam James quote #34 Depression presents itself as a realism regarding the rottenness of the world in general and the rottenness of your life in particular.
Jonathan FranzenJonathan Franzen quote #1